In the end, the most important finding from this study may be that there is enormous value in fostering collaborative data sharing among agencies. By highlighting the power of cross-sector integrated data to unlock key insights into at-risk populations, this study showcases the potential of cross-sector collaboration to provide better outcomes in public safety and public health.

Researchers from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Session on Community Corrections examined health care and justice data in Camden, New Jersey, finding a relationship among the factors that contribute to both negative public safety and negative public health outcomes.

The paper concluded that integrated data can lead to better individual outcomes, reduce crime and system cycling, and increase efficiency by directing resources to areas where they will have the most impact. 

The FBI’s and BJS’s support of state and local law enforcement agencies over the past three years underscores our commitment to implementing NCS-X and expanding NIBRS.  This will help facilitate the important work being done by our state and local partners to modernize their crime data.

~Jeffrey H. Anderson, BJS Director

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS), is spearheading the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X), a program designed to generate nationally representative, incident-based data on crimes reported to law enforcement agencies. NCS-X will leverage the FBI's existing National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) by recruiting a sample of 400 law enforcement agencies to supplement the existing NIBRS data with their incident data. When data from these 400 agencies are combined with the existing data, NIBRS will be able to produce national estimates of crime that can be disaggregated by victim-offender characteristics, the circumstances of the event, the victim-offender relationship, and other important elements of criminal events. When completed, nationally representative NIBRS data will increase our nation's ability to monitor, respond to, and prevent crime by allowing NIBRS to produce timely, detailed, and accurate national measures of crime incidents. 

Threats to the internet are constantly changing. As a result, cyber security is one of the most challenging areas in which the federal government must keep pace.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Cyber Security Division (CSD), part of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA), is charged with enhancing the security and resilience of the nation’s critical information infrastructure and the internet. The 2018 Technology Guide is a compilation of mature, CSD-funded innovative research and development (R&D) projects ready for operational pilots or commercial transition. The technologies in this guide cover areas such as mobile security, identity management, data privacy, cyber outreach, and cyber forensics as well as technology solutions from CSD’s Transition to Practice program and have undergone a thorough vetting process to ensure a high level of potential for success.

Human trafficking is a modern form of the oldest and most barbaric type of exploitation. It has no place in our world.

~President Donald J. Trump

In April 2018, President Trump signed a bill cracking down on websites that facilitate illegal prostitution and sex trafficking. The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) clarifies that the Communications Decency Act does not shield websites from liability for behavior that would be criminal if engaged in offline.

Specifically, the law allows states to investigate and prosecute websites that facilitate sex trafficking, using state criminal statutes that prohibit sex trafficking or sexual exploitation of children. It also allows victims of sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation to exercise civil remedies, such as a private right of action. Further, the law clarifies that it is unlawful for a provider of an interactive computer service to publish information provided by an information content provider with reckless disregard for whether the information is in furtherance of a sex trafficking offense.

In August 2017, all 50 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress urging action on this issue.

Hosted by the Council of State Governments Justice Center with funding support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Date: Tuesday, May 8
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., ET

On this no-cost webinar, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Council of State Governments Justice Center will review the FY2018 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grant application process. This grant program provides awards ranging between $100,000 and $750,000 for a 12- to 36-month project period to states, units of local governments, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, and state-county authorized mental health authorities. There are three grant categories:

Category 1: Collaborative County Approaches to Reducing the Prevalence of Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses in Jails

Category 2: Strategic Planning for Law Enforcement and Mental Health Collaboration

Category 3: Implementation and Expansion